Hollywood is very selective in what it shows to the audience and there are several reasons for this. For one it doesn’t want to alienate its viewers, second it doesn’t want to lose those viewers, and another point is that a lot of what is shown is up to the bias of the directors, the producers, and even the studio heads. If they don’t want it to be represented on the big screen then chances are it will never see the dim lighting of a theater. Those in charge of creating a film don’t want to damage whatever credibility they have, and will often stick to what is deemed as safe and acceptable. There are a handful of people that will show the things that might get them in trouble, but they do so with the intent to at least allow their work to resonate with the people instead of pandering to them.
People do want to see the truth, despite what many of them say.
5. You only see wars and major battles in large, developed countries. There is no mention of smaller scale battles in third-world countries.
You almost never see the effect that a major war or a meaningful skirmish has upon a smaller region. The viewpoint is almost always from the side of the country being invaded or the country doing the invading. Those that are considered bystanders are often left to one side or the other and their story is considered to be a part of the whole. It would be interesting to see a war movie from the perspective of someone not connected to the warring countries.
4. Financial problems have a lot to do with the extremely poor or the insanely rich. The middle-class are often left out.
When was the last time you saw a working-class, blue collar family in a movie? Usually you’ll see the problems of those that are well off or those that have virtually nothing and either become a success story or learn how to live within their means. Rarely ever do you see how hard a middle-class family has to work to maintain their lifestyle.
3. Teenage suicide seems like a very touchy subject.
There have been teenage suicides on film but they are rarely ever the discussion at hand. They are a byproduct or a few extra minutes that are taken up to explain the real plot of the story. It almost seems that the idea of teenage suicide is too sensitive a subject for many people. So is warfare, but we still see plenty of that.
2. Drug addiction is shown in heavily populated and impoverished cities but rarely in suburban neighborhoods where it is still a problem.
Believe it or not drugs are a big problem in suburbia too. More often than you might see this issue taken care of on TV. In movies however the super rich are drug addicts, the super poor are drug addicts, but the in-betweeners that include everything from mild poverty to mild wealth are never really taken seriously when they have a habit. It’s a joke most times.
1. The gender gap in wages is rarely ever shown in a serious light.
Oh yeah, a big issue. This issue has been rolling around in the public consciousness for some time and yet few if any have ever really had the nerve to do anything but a comedy about it. Maybe it’s time to really highlight the problem and not keep dancing around it.
These were the most underrepresented situations I could think of so please, if you can list movies that have actually covered these I encourage it.
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